The relics of Patriarch St. Tikhon of Moscow will be solemnly transferred from Moscow’s Donskoy Monastery to Christ the Savior Cathedral on December 4 in celebration of the centenary of his enthronement as the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, RIA-Novosti reports. Speaking at a meeting in preparation of events related to the 100th anniversary of the 1917 revolution, Vladimir Legoida, the head of the Synodal Department for the Church’s Relations with the Society and Mass Media, noted tha…

Die russisch-orthodoxe Kirche bereitet für die erste Dezemberwoche umfangreiche 100-Jahr-Gedenkfeiern an das Landeskonzil von 1917/18, die Wiederherstellung des Moskauer Patriarchats und den Beginn der Kirchenverfolgung durch die Kommunisten vor. Zu den Gedenkfeiern werden Repräsentanten der christlichen Kirchen aus aller Welt erwartet. Metropolit Ilarion, Leiter des Außenamts des Moskauer Patriarchats, überbrachte jetzt die entsprechende Einladung an den Ökumenischen Patriarchen Bartholomaios…

On 8 September 2017, the Coordinating Committee of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church concluded its work. Taking part in the session that was held on the Island of Leros, Greece, was Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations. As a results of the discussions, the representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic Church t…

Als „oberflächlich“ und „unprofessionell“ bezeichnete der Vorsitzende des Duma-Komitees für Entwicklung der Zivilgesellschaft und Religiöse und Zivile Vereinigungen, Sergej Gavrilov, den Bericht zur internationalen Religionsfreiheit für das Jahr 2016 des US-Außenministeriums. Der Kommentar zur Situation in Russland sei „sehr oberflächlich und tendenziös“. Die Voreingenommenheit des Berichts sei zwar verständlich, nicht aber die mangelnde Professionalität, erklärte Gavrilov.

Internationale Themen wie die Situation in Syrien, der Ukraine und Venezuela haben im Mittelpunkt des Besuchs von Kardinalstaatssekretär Pietro Parolin in Russland gestanden. Der nach Papst Franziskus zweithöchste Vertreter des Vatikans traf bei seinem viertätigen Russlandaufenthalt (21.-24. August 2017) mit zahlreichen ranghohen Kirchen- und politischen Vertretern zusammen. Ein Russlandbesuch von Papst Franziskus wurde jedoch nicht thematisiert.

Der russische Präsident Vladimir Putin möchte aus Chersones auf der Krim ein „russisches Mekka“ machen. Der Ort habe für Russland und die Russen eine einzigartige Bedeutung, wie Putin anlässlich seines Besuch der 2014 annektierten ukrainischen Halbinsel betonte. Ausschlaggebend sei dabei nicht, dass in Chersones Großfürst Vladimir getauft wurde, sondern dass danach „hier die Konsolidierung des zentralisierten russländischen Staates“ begonnen habe, erklärte der russische Präsident.

On August 31, the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church His Holiness Patriarch Kirill will celebrate the glorification of the newly-proclaimed saints the Roslavl elders Theophan and Nikita in the Dormition Cathedral in Smolensk, reports the site of the Smolensk Diocese. During the December 27, 2016 meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church a report was heard from the chairman of the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints, Bishop Pankraty of Troitsk, regarding the peti…

On 28 August 2017, the opening ceremony of the 3rd International Christian Forum took part in the Hall of Church Councils of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. The meeting was organized by the “Christian World” Association for Upholding Traditional Spiritual Values. The central topic of the meeting was the problem of persecutions of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa. Taking part in the forum were delegates from Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, Palesti…

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, is celebrating the 30th anniversary of his church ministry on August 19. In his interview to RIA Novosti news agency, Metropolitan Hilarion told about “great and minor” miracles in his life, about the effect on him over the years of his service abroad of “the atmosphere in the Western countries,” about the visit to Moscow of the Vatican’s Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, about…

Interest among St. Petersburg school children in studying the basics of Orthodoxy has grown in comparison to those interested in studying world religious cultures, according to the head of the city’s Education Committee Zhanna Vorobyova, reports Interfax-Religion. “Within the framework of the course ‘Basics of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics,’ 40% of students choose to study world religious cultures. I can say that if four years ago, 6% of students chose to study the basics of Orthodoxy…

The Justice Ministry has put the Jehovah's Witnesses on the list of organizations prohibited in Russia. "The Russian Justice Ministry has added the Jehovah's Witnesses Management Center in Russia religious organization, as well as 395 affiliated local religious organizations to the list of civil, religious and other non-governmental organizations regarding which a court order on liquidation or prohibition has taken effect pursuant to the Federal Law on Suppression of Extremist Activity," the mi…

On August 9, 2017, a round-table monastic forum finished its second and final day with four presentations on the theme: “The inner life of a city monastery”, reports Patriarchia.ru. The forum was held in the Novodevichy Convent, St. Petersburg. Participating in the forum where 5 bishops, 42 archimandrites and igumens, 45 abbesses, hieromonks, monks, and ryassaphore monks—160 monastics in total from 65 dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church. This included Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Kazakhstan…

Metropolit Kornelij (Titov), das Oberhaupt der russischen Altgläubigen, hält eine Wiedervereinigung mit dem Moskauer Patriarchat für unmöglich. In einem Interview mit der russischen Zeitung Kommersant anlässlich des 350. Jahrestags der Kirchenspaltung sagte Metropolit Kornelij, die Wunden des Schismas seien zu groß. „Wir sind im Kern, in den Riten und im Geist sehr verschieden. Wir werden ihre Riten nie akzeptieren können, und es ist unwahrscheinlich, dass sie in näherer Zukunft zum alten Glaub…

Das Moskauer Patriarchat hat Entwurf eines „Katechismus der Russischen Orthodoxen Kirche“ im Internet veröffentlicht und zur Diskussion gestellt. Erarbeitet wurde der Entwurf von der Biblisch-Theologischen Kommission unter der Leitung von Metropolit Ilarion (Alfejev).

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with a delegation of the Roman Catholic Church who were to accompany the relics of St. Nicholas from St. Petersburg to Bari, at the Golden Hall of the Metropolitan’s Chambers of the St. Alexander Nevsky Laura in St. Petersburg. Participating in the meeting from the Roman Catholic side were Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Archbishop Francesco Cacucci of Bari-Bitonto, Rev. Ciro Capoto…

Das Oberste Gericht Russlands hat die Berufung der Zeugen Jehovas gegen ihr Verbot abgelehnt. Das Gericht bestätigte das Urteil von April, dem zufolge es sich bei der Religionsgemeinschaft um eine „extremistische Gruppe“ handelt, der weitere Aktivitäten in Russland verboten sind. Die Zeugen Jehovas kündigten den Gang zum Europäischen Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte (EGMR) in Straßburg an. „In dieser Frage ist das letzte Wort noch nicht gesprochen, da das Oberste Gericht nicht nur Normen der russ…

Food embargo, which Russia prolonged to the end of 2018 will help develop the country's agriculture while European and American sanctions gave Russia a chance to develop its own industry, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations, said on the Church and the World program on Rossiya-24 (VGTRK) television channel. In early July the EU Council prolonged economic restrictions against Russia for six months. Brussels associate this term with en…

The Sverdlovsk Region Court has heard the appeal against the sentence handed down for Yekaterinburg blogger Ruslan Sokolovsky on the counts of offending religious feelings, an Interfax correspondent reported from the courtroom on 7 July 2017. The court reduced Sokolovsky's suspended sentence from 3.5 years to two years and three months. It was reported earlier that Sokolovsky posted a video on the Internet in summer 2016 showing him catching Pokemon in the Church on the Blood, built on the site…

The head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion has reminded what he said when asked during a television program whether Russia should return to monarchic government, and reassured that his remarks did not contain calls for its restoration. "Can this reply be seen as a call for the restoration of monarchy or a call for a debate on the restoration of monarchy? In my view - no. Unless, of course, you wish to read between the lines," Metropolitan Hilarion tol…

By decision of the 41st session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on July 9 in Krakov, Poland, Dormition Cathedral and Monastery on the island-town of Sviyazhsk in Tatarstan have been included in the World Heritage List, reports patriarchia.ru. The nomination dossier for the cathedral and monastery was submitted to the World Heritage Committee in early 2016. Large-scale restoration work on the island, including the monastery, and preparation for the dossier were carried out with the assist…